France: “I cannot sleep at night thinking of you”
BEF
20.01.18
My Dear Mother
I now take the pleasure of writing a few lines to you hoping they will find yourself and all at home in good health as this leaves myself at present. I am longing for a letter from home to know how you are. I did not get a letter now since I left Farming [see previous letters]. So you may guess I am very uneasy about you, as the last letter I had from Annie she said you were ill. I only wish I knew how you were. I cannot sleep at night thinking of you. I wrote to you from the Base saying I was going up the line to join the Batt., but I have not got that length yet. I did not like to send my address of any of the places I was in, I was so short a time in any of them. For you never know when you are changed and then the letters are following you all around the place. But I think I will send this one in the chance that I will be here until I get a letter and if I am not here when it comes they will send it on after me.
13971 Sgt John Adams, 9th Roy Ir Fus,36th Divisional Wing Batt, R.F.E [?], BEF.
I hope Annie can make this out.
And Dear Mother there is one thing I should like you would do and that is if you are no better. If you would get the Doctor to give you a certificate that you are serious and that you should like to see me. If you would then send it out to me I would show it to the CO and I should stand a good chance of getting home to see you. I should not like anything would happen to you and me out here. You had better Reg the letter you send it in as I should get it sooner.
I hope I have made this clear to you. There is no harm in it. All you have got to do is say to the Doctor you should like to see me and get him to write it out, and then Annie to send it to me. And I shall do the rest. I do not think Major Brew would refuse me. I need not tell you what my thoughts are like each night. And getting no letters makes me worse. I really do not know what to think. But I hope you are a good deal better by this time. This is all now as I will close.
Hoping to hear from you soon again. And do not forget what I told you.
Good bye
I Remain
Your loving son
Johnnie
Location: The War Diary shows the Battalion having just moved to Grand Seracourt, near Saint-Quentin.